What to Make of Ozzie Albies' Slow Start
The return of a healthy Ozzie Albies was one of many reasons why many were so high on the Atlanta Braves coming into 2023. When you re-insert a player who has made two All-Star appearances and has two Silver Slugger awards, you can't help but imagine the kind of lift that would give to an already dangerous lineup.
But Ozzie is not off to the start he was hoping for in 2023 slashing .227/.255/.295 in 11 games. At times, he has just looked completely lost at the plate.
Perhaps we should have expected him to be a little rusty after all of the injury problems that plagued him in 2022. It started with a broken foot in June. And then in just his second game back, he broke his finger diving into second base that ended his season.
And then in the offseason, he had shoulder surgery to clean up an impingement.
That's a lot of time Ozzie has spent recovering, and not a lot of time to practice at full strength. It does appear that he is fully healthy now, but getting that timing back could take a little while longer.
When you look at the metrics early on for Ozzie, it's pretty clear that's what the issue is -- the timing.
He's making a lot of contact, but he's missing barrels and not impacting the baseball. Through 11 games, his 84.3 MPH average exit velocity ranks in the bottom 7 percentile in all of baseball. His 2.7% barrel rate would easily be the worst of his career.
The fact he's only hitting .190 against fastballs early on is a clear indication that the timing is off for Ozzie. He's never hit lower than .260 against fastballs over his career.
It's just going to take time for Ozzie, but until he starts to show improvement, he needs to be batting down in the lineup. There are several injuries right now that are pushing him up the order, but the bat just isn't there right now.
When he gets going, he is someone that can help carry a roster. Keep an eye on Ozzie's swings against fastball and his barrel%. The moment you start seeing those get better, watch out.
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